Interesting Things About Mentawai Tribe Tattoos From Indonesia That You Need To Know

Mentawai tattoo is a body painting tradition for tribes in the Mentawai islands in Indonesia. Its existence is very unique and extraordinary, because users fill the entire body, from head to toe.

For the Mentawai tribe, tattoos are eternal clothes that can be brought to death. This tattoo also serves as a means of communication, which is to show identity and for differences in social status in society. There are many other interesting things about the Mentawai tattoo, what is it? Let's check it out

Mentawai Tattoo Is Called The Oldest Tattoo Art In The World

_{Image : Mentawai Tattoo}

The tattoos that made by Mentawai Islands community is called as the tattoo that has the oldest age in the world. The existence of painting on the skin was born earlier than the Egyptian tattoo that began 1300 BC.

The Mentawai people have started to tattoo their bodies since its arrival to the west coast of Sumatra in the Metal Age, 1500 BC - 500 BC. They are Proto Malays from the mainland of Asia (Indochina).

According to the tattoo researchers in Indonesia, Mentawai Tattoo is the oldest in the world better known as Titi. For the Mentawai people who inhabit the Mentawai islands near Sumatra, tattoos are the spirits of life.

Tattoo Has a Function As a Symbol of Natural Balance

_{Image : Mentawai Tribes}

Based on the Mentawai tradition, tattoo also has a function as a symbol of natural balance. In the Mentawaiese tradition, objects such as rocks, animals, and plants should be immortalized in their bodies.

They think everything has a soul. Another function of the tattoo is art, the Mentawai people tattoo their bodies according to their creativity.

Making The Mentawai Tattoo Must Go Through Three Stages

_{Image : Mentawai Tattoo Steps}

Making a tattoo in Mentawai is not as easy as making a tattoo in a tattoo studio in general. Mentawai tribe melalukakn three stages in the making. The first stage when someone is 11-12 years old, performed a pentatoan at the base of the arm. The second stage is 18-19 years old with thigh tattooing. The third stage after adulthood.

The process of making tattoos is time consuming and repetitive. And certainly will cause pain and even cause a fever effect.

The Materials And Tools Used Are Obtained From Nature

_{Image : Mentawai Tattoo Tools}

Making tattoos on the Mentawai tribe does not use the machine, the tool used is still traditional that uses natural ingredients, such as tapered karai wood tip and a dye made from a mixture of banana leaves and coconut shell charcoal.

Natural carbon pigments from debris from soot can be obtained from burnt wood or bamboo or soot from cooking stove (which uses firewood of course) mixed with juice of sugar cane. Both materials are mixed in a coconut shell as a tattoo ink bowl which is then brought to a Sikerei (traditional shaman) to lead the tattoo ritual.

"Sipatiti" (Tattoo Artist) Is Paid With a Hog

_{Image : Mentawai Tattoo Design}

Sipatiti is the title for the tattoo maker or more modern tattoo artist. If in big cities the tattoo maker is paid with money. Especially for in Mentawai, Sipatiti is only paid using a hog.

Before the tattooing is done, the first ceremony is headed by Sikerei in Puturukat (gallery owned sipatiti). The body of someone who will tattooed first drawn with a stick. Sketches on the body are then pierced using a wooden needle and beaten slowly with a wooden stick to insert the dye into the skin layer. The dye used is a mixture of banana leaves and coconut shell charcoal.

Those are some interesting things about Mentawai Tattoo. If anything goes wrong from my post please mention it in the comments. Hope you like it and don't forget to upvote and follow @AllAboutArts. See you next post guys...

Thanks for read my article. Follow @AllAboutArts if you interested everything about art.